Accuracy of Impression Techniques for Dental Implants Placed in Five Different Orientations

Area of Science:

• Dental Implantology
• Prosthodontics
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Accurate dental implant impressions are crucial for successful prosthetic restorations.
• Evaluating different impression techniques and implant angulations is essential for optimizing clinical outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impression accuracy of two implants in various orientations.
• To compare the dual-arch impression technique with hybrid copings against the conventional open-tray technique.

Main Methods:

• Five mandibular models with implants in varying parallel and angled (15- and 30-degree) orientations were used.
• Impressions were made using both open-tray and dual-arch techniques (n=10 per model).
• Three-dimensional deviations were calculated by scanning cast models and comparing them to original models.

Main Results:

• The greatest deviations occurred with 30-degree mesiodistal angulation for both techniques.
• The dual-arch technique demonstrated significantly lower accuracy than the open-tray technique for 15- and 30-degree mesiodistal, and 30-degree buccolingual angulations.
• No significant difference in accuracy was found between the techniques for parallel implants.

Conclusions:

• Thirty-degree mesiodistal implant angulation resulted in the largest deviations for both impression techniques.
• The dual-arch technique exhibited reduced accuracy compared to the open-tray technique with increased implant angulation.
• Parallel implant placement appears to enhance impression accuracy and may allow for the use of the dual-arch technique.